


Open Mouth (Insert Foot)

by shocked_into_shame



Series: The Adventures of Billy, Steve, & Lars [7]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: I Love You, Kissing, M/M, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 22:59:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18398099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shocked_into_shame/pseuds/shocked_into_shame
Summary: Steve's parents are coming home, so Billy and Lars can't keep basically living at his house.He tries to explain this and - no surprise - Billy gets the wrong idea.





	Open Mouth (Insert Foot)

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how I feel about this one
> 
> But you know

“So,” Steve murmurs, trailing his hand up and down Billy's bare skin. His head is buried in Billy's chest and Lars is at the bottom of Steve’s bed, his big head resting on Steve's foot. He doesn’t move it for fear of bothering the dog. “My parents are coming back from their vacation next week. They won’t be out of the house again until October.” 

 

“Oh?” Billy asks, voice slightly husky. Steve guesses that he is probably getting sleepy. 

 

“So, we can't keep doing this.”

 

“Okay,” Billy says lowly, voice devoid of any emotion. Lars moves a little in his sleep, rolling over and freeing Steve's foot. Billy lets out a long, loud yawn. Steve feels bad, then, for bringing this up now, when Billy has work in the morning and is clearly exhausted. 

 

“You have work tomorrow. We will have to have a talk tomorrow night,” he explains. Steve cuddles in closer and closes his eyes. 

 

“Okay,” Billy responds again, his blue eyes fluttering closed. He drifts off to sleep without any preamble, and Steve follows him into dreamland easily, a small smile on his face. 

 

* * *

The next morning Billy manages to leave without waking Steve up, so when Steve awakes on his day off it is already 12 noon. Hm. That isn’t like Billy. He usually wakes Steve up and gives him a sleepy kiss before he leaves. Maybe Steve was out cold and he didn’t have the heart to wake him.

 

Lars is sleeping in Billy's place, his head resting on the pillow. It makes Steve smile, makes him wish he had a camera. He’s been thinking about that a lot lately, considering all of the perfect moments he’d love to have a snapshot of. There are so many perfect moments in his life these days. 

 

Not long after Steve stirs from his sleep, Lars is up and about, howling and begging to go outside. Steve takes him for a walk around the yard, still barefooted in the August warmth. He savors the feeling of the cool grass beneath his feet. Once Lars is finished they go back inside and he feeds him his lunch. He  _ could _ eat something as well, but he doesn't really have the energy to cook anything. He grabs a popsicle instead. 

 

He keeps thinking about the interaction they had last night. Billy didn't seem particularly happy when he found out that his parents were coming back. Didn't seem too keen on the idea of Steve moving in with him.

 

_ Wait. _ Steve didn't even get to ask about that. Didn't even get to mention the prospect of them moving in together. They had fallen asleep before he could get to it. 

 

Lars begs to go outside again and Steve gets dressed in linen shorts and a shirt, sandals on his feet. He walks him around the neighborhood and enjoys the way Lars happily trots around on the pavement. Thinks about Billy and how he wishes he were here. Just the thought of Billy makes something warm and nice curl in his stomach. He feels himself smiling dreamily. God, he  _ loves _ Billy. All of the plans for his life - all of the humdrum plans suddenly feel important and exciting, and he  _ wants _ to get a good job. Wants to work and make a living. Wants to have a nice home, a family. Wants to build that with Billy. 

 

Maybe he’s getting ahead of himself. 

 

When he gets back into the house the blinking light on his answering machine gets his attention. He listens to the voicemail and hears a demanding voice on the other end: “Steve, what the hell did you do to my brother? He is moping around the pool like someone kicked his puppy, which I don't think you would have done, so you must have done something else. Fix this.  _ Now _ .” 

 

_ Oh _ . Steve can’t catch his breath. Billy is upset? Why would Billy be upset? 

 

Part of him wants to drive over to the pool, but another part of him knows not to bring this to Billy's work. 

 

Steve feels dread in the pit of his stomach as he halfheartedly play fights with Lars and then eats a bowl of cereal. MTV plays on in the background, music video after music video that Steve barely tunes into. And then when it gets to be 7 PM, 7:30,  _ 8:30 _ and no sign of Billy, he gets genuinely worried.

 

The shrill of the phone grabs his attention and he rushes to pick it up. “Bill?” 

 

“Billy is on his way over. Steve, please be gentle with him.” 

 

“ _ Max _ ?” 

 

She heaves a sigh. “Yes. It’s Max. Billy took me to the diner tonight and says you are probably going to break up with him. I wanted to catch you before he got there. Go easy on him, okay? I know he can be a lot to handle but he deserves -” 

 

“What the fuck?” Steve blurts and then catches his language. “Pretend I didn't say that.”

 

“You  _ aren't  _ going to break up with him?”

 

“God, no.”

 

“Cause he said that you said your parents were going to come home, and that you wouldn't be able to keep doing what you were doing, and that you would talk about it tonight.”

 

“Oh, shit.” Steve’s shoulders sag. “I totally made it sound like I was going to break up with him.”

 

“Yup.” She pops the p. Steve feels like an idiot. 

 

“Max, I wanted to ask if I could move  _ in _ with him.” 

 

“Oh,” she responds dumbly. “ _Oh!_ That's much better.” 

 

Billy's car must pull up, then, because Lars rushes to the door and starts barking his head off. “Billy's home. I've got to go.” 

 

He slams the phone down before Max can say anything else. The second that Billy enters the house, Steve’s heart just about sinks into the floor. Billy has this  _ look _ in his blue eyes, a look of trepidation that Steve hasn’t seen before. As Billy pets Lars in greeting, he only half heartedly coos, “Hi, boy.”

 

He seems shorter. His hair seems less curly. It breaks Steve’s heart.

 

“Billy,” he starts, stepping closer. He mostly wants to fly into his arms and squeeze him until he’s happy again, but somehow he thinks he’d better use his words here. “Max called me. She said you think I want to break up with you?”

 

Billy gives him a sad smile and looks down at his feet. “Yeah. Seemed like it.” 

 

“I do not want to break up with you. No way in hell.” 

 

Billy lets out a long sigh of relief and rubs at his face. “Well why’d you say  _ we need to talk _ , then?” he demands, eyes wide. 

 

“I just meant that we had to figure out what we’d do once my parents got back.” 

 

“Well, we can’t keep staying here most nights, can we?” 

 

“No. I was hoping that I would just… move into your apartment.” 

 

Billy’s mouth opens slightly. He narrows his eyes. “You want to live in my tiny ass apartment? Steve, I’m not sure how you can handle living there all the time. No wide empty spaces. No luxurious TV. No massive kitchen. Just one room, baby.”

 

“Yeah, but,” Steve walks forward, grabbing Billy’s hand. “I’d be with you. And I thought that maybe with our money together we could maybe move into something better?”

 

Billy’s eyebrows raise and he shakes his head. He scoffs and bites, “Sweetheart, I barely pay the rent on my place as it is. I burned through my savings and I’ve barely been getting the checks in.” 

 

“But that’s crazy! You spend most of your time here. You never told me that you were having trouble paying for your apartment.”

 

“You never asked.” Billy shrugs like it's that simple. 

 

Steve rubs a hand through his hair. “ _ Fuck _ . I’m sorry. I can help you. Even if you don’t want me to move in full time. I can help you out. Once summer is done I start my job at my dad’s company. Gonna get a salary and all that crap.”

 

“No, I  _ want  _ you to move in with me,” Billy insists. “I want that. But I just worry… Are you ready to slum it? You’ve had this” he gesticulates wildly to the massive interior of Steve’s house. “Your whole life. Can you handle sharing a tiny apartment with me and Lars?” 

 

Lars pants and tilts his head at the mention of his name.

 

“Yes,” Steve insists. Billy moves to protest so he continues to talk. “I’m serious, babe. I just wanna be with you. I don’t care if we have to live in a tiny apartment. I love you and I want to be with you, okay?” Steve says it in a rush, gently brushing his thumb over the back of Billy’s hand. 

 

Billy’s jaw drops. Steve furrows his eyebrows in confusion and then he fucking realizes - he said he  _ loves _ Billy. He just said that. Out loud. For the first time. Billy brings a shaky hand up to point at himself. “You love  _ me _ ?” 

 

Fuck. He could deny it, ask for a do-over. But he does love Billy, so much, so what’s the point of keeping it hidden? Steve breathes out, “Yes,” and Billy is rushing forward, wrapping his strong arms around Steve’s waist and hoisting him up, spinning him around. Steve laughs in surprise and Lars barks at the commotion. 

 

“Say it again,” Billy demands, kissing him firmly before Steve can say anything.

 

“I love you,” Steve breathes against his lips, and Billy smiles so wide, a big genuine smile that touches his eyes. 

 

“I love you, too,” Billy murmurs and then joins their lips together again. 

 

_ Awoo _ adds Lars. Steve grips onto Billy’s shoulders a little tighter, smiling like an idiot into the kiss. 

  
  



End file.
